Copy of Roman reliefs on the Arch of Constantine, Rome. On the left of the drawing is a depiction of a Roman boar hunt. Toga-clad Romans on horseback – the emperor Hadrian and his men – are attacking a wild boar. Can you see its rough skin, hooves and tusks? On the right of the drawing is depicted a Roman sacrifice to a deity. Two men in togas, representing the emperor Hadrian and a companion, stand on the left of an altar. A sacrifice is burning in front of a sculpture of the Roman god Apollo, recognisable by the lyre he holds. To the right of the altar a toga-clad man is holding a horse for Hadrian. On the bottom of the drawing is a pencil sketch of Roman figures, some of them standing and others seated. They are part of a relief sculpture from the time of Constantine. The two larger scenes are copies of Roman sculptural reliefs in the form of medallions from the time of the emperor Hadrian. The sketch along the bottom is from a long narrow frieze made in the time of Constantine. The frieze was installed below the two medallions on the Arch of Constantine in Rome. This arch reused many sculptures from the time of earlier emperors. It showed that Constantine was paying tribute to his predecessors but also made him their equal.
